“You never miss,” I say thankfully. Love didn’t try to kill herself. But I might have to plan someone else’s death. “What and when did Marxis tell you that?” I say telling Karl to keep an eye on him on my phone. While holding Love’s small frame in my arms, my lips meet her forehead. Just the contact with her made the arrangement with her father worth it.
“Marxis appeared when I entered the party, he cornered me and told me you had a plan. He told me you needed me to pretend I’ll shoot myself so that my father wouldn’t kill you if things went south, I got too invested,” sounds like him, “I was assured the gun would be unloaded-”
“It’s ok, I got you. You missed, you’re fine! He’ll pay,” I guarantee her as well but my promises are true. He will pay with his life and he’ll be my reason for the second purge. Enemies are within our ranks, and our grounds need clearing.
“What are you plotting?” she asks looking up slightly parted from me.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” I say and seal our lips once before the nurse comes in to drag me out.
“Will my father approve?” she asks me and I nod, not letting go of her hand until I have the door closing on it.
“He will support it,” I whisper. “I’ll get you home,” I mouth, she nods and says something back, I can’t understand what, and that stresses the shit out of me. She’ll be discharged by morning, I’ll make sure she is. I need her to be. She needs to come to the island with me. It’s not going to be as peaceful this time. But it’s needed. We need to identify our enemy so we can nullify them. They’ll shake, run, and hide, but they’ll never escape. Because they? They dared hurt Love, they’re the ones behind it, and they shall be punished. They’ll wish they were dead by the time I end things with them, and I’ll never let them have peace.
Chapter 17
Love
Pain.
Everything hurts but I’m managing it. I have to. We just got to Dominik’s purge island. I unpack my things. We’re going to stay here for two whole weeks. Away from the world. Safe. While my father slaughters every traitor we’ve identified in the past week. No one but a close number of people knew about this purge. No one was obligated to come to the island. They were only kindly reminded it was the only safe place. While in fact Dominik is keeping an eye on everyone who enters through our complex’s door.
“Love?” Rian calls and I notice I spaced out again. It became quite often. I’m still grieving. I think I’ll forever be, the empty spot my mother lived in my heart will never be filled again. Something is always going to be missing. “Come here,” Rian says opening his arms and I get up from the couch and hug him. He’s here. My bestfriend is still here, and he’s going nowhere.
“Rian, don’t ever disappear you idiot,” I say hugging him tighter.
Dominik is inside our room with Josh in a security conference to check that everything is going according to plan.
“I won’t, relax you’re stuck with me and these pricks for life,” Rian says and I sigh in relief. “I’ve got you,” he whispers before letting go of me. And I sit by the window next to Aiden. I try to see where he’s looking so attentively but can’t.
“What are you looking at?” I ask him. Despite my father’s plan Aiden never wanted to marry me against my will so we’re good.
“The layout of the buildings. It has changed since five years ago,” five years ago, the last time Aiden was here.
“A lot has changed,” I say and Aiden smiles at me.
“You haven’t, little spark,” Aiden says and I laugh.
“You’re lying-”
“I’m not, you never wanted me and still don’t. It’s kind of enchanting that you’re immune to my charms,” Aiden says getting up and going to the couch next to the others.
“What charms?” I ask in a whisper sitting between him and Rian.
“Very funny,” Aiden whispers back. I can’t dislike him. The more I try the less I don’t. “I could’ve married you,” Aiden says smirking.
“Yet you didn’t,” I wink at him and move through thewhite almost empty space and knock on mine and Dominik’s room’s door.
“Come in,” I hear from the other side of the door.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask Josh when I see him holding a knife to Dominik’s neck.
“Killing the last traitor,” Josh says and I look at him confused.
“Can we talk this through? What the hell happened in here?” I ask Josh once again seeing the place is completely trashed, they fought.
“I’m killing him. There’s no stopping me, little sister-”
“Dom, immobilise my brother please,” I say and in fifteen struggling seconds Josh is the one with the knife against his neck. “I’m not asking again, what happened here?”
